Proposed treatments of eastside fishing lakes will be discussed at July public meetings

OLYMPIA - A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) proposal to improve fishing by treating selected lakes in eastern Washington will be discussed at public meetings scheduled in July.

All the lakes proposed for treatment have declining trout populations or degraded waterfowl habitat because of competition or impacts from illegally introduced or undesirable fish, said Jeff Korth, WDFW district fish biologist in Moses Lake.

Under the proposal, lakes would be treated with rotenone, a natural chemical derived from a plant root that eliminates the undesirable fish. After the rotenone dissipates, the trout lakes will be stocked with trout fry. The treatment also improves waterfowl habitat by ridding lakes of carp, a plant-eating fish.

The target species in the proposed lake rehabilitations are:

• Park Lake, Blue Lake, Mirror Pond and Rainbow Lake (Grant County): pumpkinseed sunfish, yellow perch and bullhead catfish.
• Warden Lake, South Warden Lake, and Index lakes (Grant County): brown bullhead, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow perch.
• Grant County lakes for waterfowl habitat restoration: carp and other undesirable species.
• Pearrygin Lake (Okanogan County): smallmouth and largemouth bass.
• Long Lake (Aeneas Valley in Okanogan County): sunfish.
• McDowell Lake (Stevens County): tench.

"This is a chance for people to comment on the proposal and to learn about the treatment procedure and the benefits of lake rehabilitation," said Korth. "Trout provide one of the state's most popular fisheries, and by rehabilitating these lakes we can continue to provide anglers great trout-fishing opportunities."

The lake treatment plan is scheduled to be finalized in late August, and treatments would begin in October.

The meeting schedule is:

• Colville, July 6, at 7 p.m., at the Stevens County Conservation District Office, 232 Williams Lake Road, Colville, to discuss the fish management plan and recommended treatment of McDowell Lake in Stevens County.

• Ephrata, July 13, at 6 p.m., in the auditorium of the Ephrata High School, 333 4th Ave. NW, Ephrata, to discuss the fish management plans and recommended treatment of Park and Blue lakes and connecting waters (Mirror Pond, Rainbow Lake, Alkali Lake); Warden, South Warden and the Index lakes in Grant County; Long Lake and Pearrygin Lake in Okanogan County; as well as to hear proposals to treat lakes in Grant County Wildlife Areas slated for waterfowl habitat restoration.
• Winthrop, July 18, at 7 p.m., at the Methow Fish Hatchery, 44 Wolf Creek Road, Winthrop, to discuss the fish management plans and recommended treatment of Long Lake and Pearrygin Lake in Okanogan County.
• Olympia, July 19, at 7 p.m., in room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St., S.E., to discuss all proposals.